mia's mind

convenience store woman by sayaka murata

★★★★☆

9/8: relatable and made me cry a bit.

universality by natasha brown

★★★☆☆

9/2: funny but frustrating (but i guess that's the point). well-written, as expected from brown.

where i was from by joan didion

★★★★☆

9/1: i enjoy didion's nonfiction, especially when it's about california (and she always mentions the central valley). very interesting read for a lifelong california girl like myself.

open throat by henry hoke

★★★★☆

8/26: surprised by how much i liked it...similar ideas to where i was from by joan didion?

glory by vladimir nabakov

★★★★☆

8/24: funny! reminds me of a portrait of the artist as a young man.

song of solomon by toni morrison

★★★★★

8/10: read the entirety of this on the train.

one hundred years of solitude by gabriel garcía márquez

★★★★☆

7/26: very immersive. looking forward to watching the adaptation.

the bluest eye by toni morrison

★★★★★

7/2: one of the best.

the selected works of audre lorde

☆☆☆☆☆

6/22: i loved the essays. i'm not the best poetry reader.

the power and the glory by graham greene

★★★★☆

6/21: enjoyed it more than i thought i would. i like greene's writing.

unsuitable: a history of lesbian fashion by eleanor medhurst

★★★★☆

5/17: soooo in my niche it's hard not to love.

vivienne by emmalea russo

☆☆☆☆☆

5/5: not sure how i feel about this, hence the empty stars. i liked it? maybe?

notes from a young black chef by kwame onwuachi

★★★☆☆

4/28: interesting (and entertaining...the drug test story made me laugh) insight into culinary world.

l.a. woman by eve babitz

★★★☆☆

4/18: she's hilarious.

the brothers karamazov by fyodor dostoevsky

★★★★★

3/31: hurrah!

the queer art of failure by j. jack halberstam

★★★★☆

3/25: entertaining and thought-provoking. i want their thoughts on reality tv.

girly drinks: a world history of women & alcohol by mallory o'meara

★★★☆☆

3/17: disorganized at times but enjoyable nonetheless.

fearless & free: a memoir by josephine baker

★★★☆☆

3/1: such an interesting life and wonderful person! i want to go dancing with her.

of human freedom by epictetus

★★★★★

2/26: astute and entertaining. maybe a bit corny.

set my heart on fire by izumi suzuki

★★☆☆☆

2/24: disappointing and disjointed. i prefer her short stories. cool setting and music.

ghosts by edith wharton

★★★☆☆

2/22: reminded me of mark fisher's the weird and the eerie. this being eerie as fuck.

burst by audre lorde

★★★★☆

2/13: very relevant. hyperindividualism destroys us all. excited to read more of her work.

chess by stefan zweig

★★★★☆

2/1: the theme of obsession will always interest me (when done well, as it was here).

slaves to fashion: black dandyism & the styling of black diasporic identity by monica miller

★★★★☆

1/31: named as the inspiration for the upcoming met gala ("Superfine: Tailoring Black Style"). thought-provoking and informative.

star by yukio mishima

★★★★☆

1/27: "...because they know that a convincing sense of reality can only be born from an unholy faith."

água viva by clarice lispector

★★★★★

1/20: like a spell washing over you. truly magical.

perfume & pain by anna dorn

★★★☆☆

1/19: i laughed out loud multiple times.

didion & babitz by lili anolik

★★★☆☆

1/1: gossipy but i love gossip. two very interesting women.